Jesu Hail! O God Most Holy

Words: Latin, trans. Rev. H. R. Bramley

Music: John Stainer

Source: Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer, Christmas Carols New and Old, First Series (London: Novello, Ewer & Co., ca 1871), Carol #7

1. Jesu hail! O God most holy,
Gentle Lamb, an Infant lowly;
Born, great God, a human stranger,
Laid within the narrow manger:

Chorus
Might transcending, Weakness blending,
Greatness bending from the sky;
Love unending, man befriending,
God most high.

2. To enrich my desolation,
To redeem me from damnation,
Wrapt in swathing-bands Thou liest,
Thou in want in weakness sighest: Chorus

3. Low abased, where brutes are sleeping,
God’s beloved Son is weeping;
Judge supreme, true Godhead sharing,
Sinner’s likeness for us wearing! Chorus

4. Jesu, Thine my heart is solely;
Draw it, take it to Thee wholly:
With Thy sacred Fire illume me,
Let it inwardly consume me. Chorus

5. Hence let idle fancies vanish,
Hence all evil passions banish;
Make me like Thyself in meekness,
Bind to Thee my human weakness.

Chorus
Might transcending, Weakness blending,
Greatness bending from the sky;
Love unending, man befriending,
God most high.
God most high.

Sheet Music from Bramley & Stainer

 

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